Measurement Sciences Working Group Drafts Guiding Principles for Social Impact Measurement

The MSWG of the Sustainability Consortium has created the first draft of the “Principles and Framework for Social Responsibility Reporting”. This guiding framework will be the basis for the development of social metrics for Sector Working Groups. The work is being led by Catherine Benoit, whose work has helped to unite many global social responsibility frameworks, including the ISO 26000 Guidance on Social Responsibility, the Global Reporting Initiative, and the UNEP/SETAC Guidelines for Social LCA.

The social impact framework maps the ISO 26000 guiding principles to the sub-categories found in the UNEP/SETAC S-LCA guidance, and will provide a practical tool for sectors to use in creating, categorizing, and prioritizing social indicators. These social indicators will be a part of the comprehensive Sustainability Measurement and Reporting System (SMRS) that is being created by The Sustainability Consortium.

The draft “Principles and Framework for Social Responsibility Reporting” document is in internal review now, and the finalized product will be formally communicated to the SWGs for use in developing social indicators.